Reading Harry Potter In An Alternate Universe
by XxXxDarkVampirexXxX
Summary: In an alternate universe where a few things differ in the world, Dumbledore has the Ministry write the Harry Potter books and decides to read them. He summons a group of people and together they read and realize just how lucky they were to have completed the war the way they did. SS/HG and HP/GW warning. Slight romance between the four just mentioned.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo, I've been working on a SeverusxHermione fic, and I thought, what if I do another one of those 'reading the books' type fics, with a bunch of people, instead of just the Marauders and Lily. I'm still working on that, by the way, almost done the next chapter for that. Anyway, there _will_ be some SSxHG and some HPxGW in this. Nothing major or anything, so you can always ignore that stuff if it crops up if you're not a fan of that. Some people, who were supposed to be dead, are alive in this, since it is an AU and all, and yeah…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters…**

Though the school year had finished two weeks before, Hogwarts castle wasn't as empty as it should have been, especially considering the war had ended. A group of people had crowded into the oddly arranged Great Hall.

Instead of the usual four House tables and Head table, there was an arrangement of couches, armchairs and smaller, coffee type tables. They were comfortable looking seats, making the group realize that they were going to be there for a while.

Another odd thing was that each seat had a nameplate on it, saying who was to sit where. The group of people looked around at one another. They were not children, they didn't need seating arrangements, but Dumbledore, who was_ obviously_ behind this, was Dumbledore, and they knew it was best not to argue with him.

All of these people had been at home, enjoying the beginning of summer, when they had received a letter, telling them to come to Hogwarts the next morning at eight. Though slightly annoyed, they had all done as told, and were now looking around in confusion, wondering what was going on. They decided to take their seats.

Molly and Arthur Weasley took a seat in the love seat indicated for them near the front. Their sons Bill and Charlie sat down in the one next to them, with Fred and George in the one next to their elder brothers. On the couch next to the twins, was their younger brother Ron, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, with the girl seated in the middle.

Opposite Molly and Arthur, also on a couch, were Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley and Remus Lupin, with Harry seated in between. On the couch next to them, were Lucius, Draco and Narcissa Malfoy, the boy seated between his parents. There was an enlarged armchair at the foot of the group, where half-giant Rubeus Hagrid took a seat.

There were another couple of armchairs on either side of the one at the head of the group. Minerva McGonagall sat down on the one closer to the Weasleys on the right, while the one on the left was left for _two_ people to sit on. These two looked at one another, shrugged, and sat down, Hermione Granger now on the lap of her old professor and current lover, Severus Snape. Neither seemed perturbed at all with the seating arrangement. In fact, they seemed rather happy.

The doors to the Great Hall opened and everyone turned to see Albus Dumbledore walk in. He said nothing as he crossed the hall, but once he had taken a seat at the remaining armchair at the front, he gave them all a twinkling smile. He looked around at everyone, one by one, judging them.

"Good morning everyone!" he beamed. "I'm glad you all made it on time!" The group gave him a rather disgruntled look, none of them wanting to get up this early on a summer morning, but Dumbledore merely chuckled. "I suppose you're all wondering why I have called you here?" He got multiple nods in response. "Well, the Department of Mysteries has been working on a little...experiment of mine for the past few years," he said. "And it's finally complete."

"_What_ are you talking about, Albus?" questioned McGonagall, just as confused as everyone else was.

The old wizard decided to explain. "In this war, we've all had to make very many difficult decisions. We've all had to see things we wish we'd never had seen. We've all been through things we wish we had never had to have gone through. Yet despite this, we've won." He looked around at them all, a proud smile on his face. "We pulled through and defeated Voldemort...but I still wonder, what would have happened had we made different choices?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Albus," said Molly, "but I still don't know where you're going with this." In fact, no one knew.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I suppose I can, cut to the chase, as the Muggles might say." From inside his cloak, he pulled out a stack of small books. Wordlessly, he enlarged them and placed them down on the table in front of him. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Everyone looked at Harry, who shook his head wildly, silently saying that he had no idea what this was about. One by one, they refocused on the Headmaster.

"Each of these books," he said, "dictates Harry's seven years in the magical world. _Most _of what happens is the same as we know it, yet there are things that occur in these, that did not occur here, for us. These changes are what would have happened, had we, as I said earlier, made different choices. I would like us to read these books, to find out what these changes are." He looked at them once again, one by one, right in the eye. "Each person in this room is trustworthy. Is a friend. Nothing heard in this Hall can leave. I want that understood." The final sentence was said sternly.

The others glanced at one another, but nodded. They could live with that.

"Good," said Dumbledore, smiling once again. He picked up a book. "Now, who would like to read first?"

To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot into the air. "Oh, I'd love to go first, sir."

Severus snickered and whispered into her ear. "You're no longer a student here, Hermione. I wonder if you realize that."

She elbowed him lightly. "I know that," she huffed.

A few laughs were heard and Dumbledore handed Hermione the book. "Of course, Miss Granger, go right ahead."

"Thank you, sir." She looked down at the title. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." She, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. This had been their very first adventure. She cleared her throat. "Chapter one, The Boy Who Lived..."

**And that's the end of this first chapter. Merely and introductory, as you might have realized. The actual reading will begin in the next chapter. If anyone has any questions, you can ask them in a review or you can PM me and I'll try and answer. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	2. The Boy Who Lived

**Yo, sorry about the wait. I was sick during most of the holidays, and when I wasn't, I was either reading the books I got, or playing FFX. And as soon as I got back into school, I had culminating and stuff, so I didn't have time for this. Sorry.**

**Dunno if I mentioned this already, but Harry's life with the Dursley's will be a bit…worse than it is in the books or movies.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters…**

* * *

**"Chapter One... The Boy Who Lived..." **began Hermione, settling herself more comfortably on Severus' lap.** 'Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.' **

Harry let out a groan. "It just _had_ to start with them, didn't it?"

He received looks of confusion. Few of the people in the Hall had met his aunt and uncle, and even those who had, were unaware of what he had gone through in their home.

**'They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.'**

"Is there a reason for that?" wondered Bill.

"I wouldn't call it a _good_ reason," said Harry, "but yeah, they've got one."

"What is it?"

Harry paused. "You'll see eventually. I'm sure they'll mention it sometime."

Hermione went on before Bill could question Harry on what he meant.

**'Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.' **

"Drills?" said Arthur, his face lightening. "What are those?"

So, pausing in the reading, Harry and Hermione attempted to explain.

"Fascinating!" exclaimed that man, once he had understood.

"Go on, dear," said Molly, so that her husband couldn't ask more questions.

**'He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours.' **

Ginny let out a little laugh. "I'm glad you look nothing like them, Harry."

Harry laughed too. "You don't know just _how_ glad I am of that," he said, taking his girlfriend's hand.

**'The Dursley's had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.'**

Harry couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. "They really need to sort out their opinion of 'fine'."

There were more curious looks, but the black haired teen simply smiled slightly and gave Hermione a cue to read on. She complied.

**'The Dursley's had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.' **

"They've murdered someone-," said Fred.

"-and they've buried the body in their backyard?" finished George.

Everyone looked at them, surprised at what they had thought up.

"Er, no, not quite _that_," said Harry, torn between amusement and confusion.

**'They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.' **

"Ohhh... So, no body?"

"Heh, no."

**'Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.' **

"They pretended your mother didn't exist," said Charlie in surprise.

"Yeah," replied Harry with a slight shrug.

Severus frowned and glanced over at the boy, confused at his nonplussed attitude. Had they really ignored Lily that much and for that long? That hearing it barely affected her son anymore?

**'The Dursley's shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursley's knew that the Potters had a small son too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.'**

"And how did that idea turn out?" asked Draco.

"Not very well," said Harry in a mock somber voice. "I ended up saving his life. Though, it _was_ my fault that it was endangered in the first place."

"Technicalities," said Lucius, waving it off.

The Malfoy family had gotten much better after the war. In fact, Draco was now Harry's friend.

**'When Mr and Mrs Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his highchair.' **

"Why would he pick out his most boring tie?" wondered Ron.

"Cause _he's_ boring," replied Harry. "You'll see what I'm talking about."

**'None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window.' **

"Yay! Owl!" yelled the twins. "Ow!" Charlie had reached over and smacked them both upside the head.

**'At half-past eight, Mr Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. 'Little tyke,' chortled Mr Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.'**

"The man finds his child throwing a tantrum amusing?" said Molly, sounding both shocked and confused.

"That's just how he is, Mrs Weasley," said Harry, trying to explain. "For them, having a spoiled child is a good thing."

"It is?"

Harry nodded and the Weasleys frowned. That made no sense whatsoever.

**'It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar-a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr Dursley didn't realize what he had seen-then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.'**

Minerva smiled secretly. That had been a very...interesting moment.

**'Mr Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back.' **

The Transfiguration professor let out a little chuckle at this one. The surprise on Dursley's face had been quite amusing. When the others looked at her in surprise, she said nothing, but indicated that Hermione continue to read.

**'As Mr Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said "Privet Drive"-no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.' **

At this, Harry looked over at his Head of House. "They can't unless they're not _really_ a cat," he said slowly, but the woman gave nothing away.

**'Mr Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except the large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.' **

"And cloaks are strange?" said Neville.

**'Mr Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes-the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.' **

"Hey!" There were multiple indignant shouts at this.

"It doesn't really matter much," said Luna suddenly. "Muggles dress in funny ways too."

Everyone looked at her, surprised, but Hermione and Harry agreed with her. They had seen some of the most bizarre ensembles on people who were pure Muggle.

**'He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by.' **

"Weirdos..." muttered Narcissa disgustedly.

**'They were whispering excitedly together. Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why that man had to be older than him! But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt-these people were obviously collecting for something...yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.'**

"This guy doesn't really think about much else, does he, Harry?" said Ginny.

"No, not really," replied Harry. "But it...depends."

**'Mr Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor.'**

"Now why would you want to go do that?" questioned Arthur. "He's lucky he's even got windows."

"And that he isn't underground," added Lucius.

The two men didn't even notice the startled stares they were receiving. Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley had just agreed on something!

**'If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.' **

Most of the people in the room looked at Harry and Hermione at this.

"Is that true?"

The two exchanged a glance before nodding. "It is."

**'Mr Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunch-time, when he thought he's stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the baker's opposite.'**

"He yells too much," said George.

"I'm surprised he hasn't lost his voice," added Fred.

Harry laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet."

**'He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed.' **

"Why?" wondered Ron. "It's not like they've done anything to him."

**'He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.' **

"So he eyeballs them?" said Draco. "What's that going to solve?"

"Nothing," said Harry, "but glaring angrily is something he does all the time."

"Like Uncle Severus?"

Harry laughed. "Sn- Professor Snape has a reason, my uncle doesn't. And it doesn't help that his glares aren't intimidating at all, whereas the Professor's..." he trailed off to a few laughs.

Severus glared at them as they all looked over at him, but this only got half of them to shut up. He pinched Hermione's sides, as she too, was laughing at him and at her squeal of pain, the others finally stopped laughing.

**'This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his was back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**'The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-'**

**'-yes, their son, Harry-'**

"Ahh," said Remus, "this must be _that _day."

"What day?" asked Ron curiously.

But the werewolf shook his head and had Hermione read on.

**'Mr Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.'**

"Wait," said Neville, confused. "Hearing _that_ caused him to get scared? Why?"

Everyone looked at Harry, waiting for some sort of explanation. Harry tried to explain, without giving too much away.

"Well...they...they're sort of...afraid of the magical world," he said after a moment of thought. "They don't want to be involved in it at all, so whenever they hear something about it, they become afraid. I...I'm sure one the books will explain it properly. You should just keep reading, Mione."

**'He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking...no, he was being stupid.' **

"_That's_ not exactly new," scoffed Harry.

**'Potter wasn't such an unusual name.'**

"Yes, it is," snorted Hagrid.

**'He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry.' **

"Nope, there's just the one," said Molly, smiling fondly at her 'son'.

**'Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He's never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.'**

All of Harry's friends made a face.

"I love your name, Harry," said Ginny.

Draco smirked. "I think we all know _that_." But only a few people in the room understood the actual meaning behind his words.

"Can it, Draco!" replied the fiery read headed girl.

Hermione decided to continue reading before Mrs Weasley caught on and punished her 'brother' and 'sister'.

**'There was no point in worrying Mrs Dursley, she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her-if he'd had a sister like that...but all the same, those people in cloaks...'**

Again, there were glances at Harry, but he didn't speak.

**'He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.'**

"I feel sorry for the person he bumped into," sniggered Draco, receiving a smack on the back of the head from his mother a moment after.

The Weasley's were surprised at this motion. So Draco _did_ get disciplined too...just in a lighter fashion than their family.

**'Sorry,' he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak.'**

"Uh oh," mumbled Bill.

**'He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare: 'Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!'**

There was a pause.

"Subtle," smiled Harry. "Very subtle. I'm surprised Muggles don't know about us already."

Hermione joined in, understanding Harry's humour.

**'And the old man hugged Mr Dursley around the middle and walked off.'**

"He must've had some insanely long arms," laughed Fred and George in unison.

Normally, they would have gotten another smack on the head for that, but no one could help but laugh at that.

**'Mr Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled.' **

Arthur frowned. "_That's_ how he reacts to that?

**'He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.'**

Everyone looked at Harry, shock evident on _all_ their faces.

"Is he...serious?" questioned Fred and George in unison, sounding shocked.

"Unfortunately, yes," sighed Harry, looking almost defeated.

"But that's just...bizarre," said Draco in disbelief.

"I know. They're a very...different kind of family," said Harry. "Things they approve and disapprove of, are way different than the things...normal people approve and disapprove of."

"Sounds complicated," said Ron, clearly confused.

Harry simply laughed. "It takes some getting used to."

**'As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw- and it didn't improve his mood- was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.'**

Harry once again glanced at his Head of House, this time, joined by Hermione and Severus, but still, she said nothing.

**'Shoo!' said Mr Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behaviour, Mr Dursley wondered.' **

"Come, Minerva, that _has_ to be you," said Severus, slightly amused.

But McGonagall gave them all a stern look. "You will never find out, unless Miss Granger continues reading."

"Fine, fine."

**'Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.'**

"Coward," muttered Molly and Narcissa together. They exchanged a surprised look and then smiled. At least they had _something_ in common.

**'Mrs Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learnt a new word (Shan't).' **

"Why am I not surprised," said Hermione, interrupting herself with a shake of the head.

**'Mr Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living-room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**'And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise.' **

Bill laughed. "I suppose everyone in our world has something to say at the same time."

Arthur gave his eldest son and amused look. "Oh, like you wouldn't believe."

**'Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern.' The news reader allowed himself a grin. 'Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?'**

"Wait, why is he grinning?" asked Neville, confused.

Remus gave him a small, rather sad smile. "Because that's Dora's father, Neville," he replied.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"That's Tonk's dad?" questioned Harry.

The werewolf nodded. "He was a Muggleborn, wasn't he? He worked as a news caster for a little while, before getting a job in our world."

"Oh..."

There was a moment of silence, almost in respect for Ted Tonks, before the reading continued.

**'Well, Ted,' said the weatherman, 'I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars!' **

"Gods, everyone must have been drunk or something," said Lucius, who had obviously _not_ been celebrating that moment.

"They most likely were," agreed Albus.

**'Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early- it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise you a wet night tonight.'**

"We left him in the _rain_?" questioned Hagrid, remembering said night.

McGonagall shook her head. "It didn't rain, Hagrid, don't worry."

**'Mr Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...'**

"Well, at least he's got some deductive skills," laughed Fred, while George agreed with a nod.

"They're actually not very good though," said Harry. "Just wait until later."

**'Mrs Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. 'Er- Petunia, dear- you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?'**

**As he expected, Mrs Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.'**

Severus glanced at Harry again, and saw that he still looked nonplussed. It was still rather hard to believe that Harry no longer cared that his aunt and uncle pretended that his mother and father didn't even exist. How did he do it?

**'No,' she said sharply. 'Why?'**

**'Funny stuff on the news,' Mr Dursley mumbled. 'Owls...shooting starts...and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today...'**

**'So?' snapped Mrs Dursley.**

**'Well, I just thought...maybe...it was something to do with...you know...her lot.'**

Everyone pulled a rather angry face.

"Our..._lot_?" questioned Molly.

Harry grimaced. He hadn't realized they'd hear the Dursley's say that. He had forgotten that people in the magical world weren't used to being referred to as _that_. "You're going to have to get used to hearing them say that," he said. "Because they're going to say it all the time."

"But that's..."

"I know," said Harry with a sigh. "It just takes some getting used to."

**'Mrs Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, 'Their son- he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?'**

Harry gave a little laugh. "It's almost funny how _he's_ the one that's bringing this up, considering he tries to avoid the topic as much as possible.

**'I suppose so,' said Mrs Dursley stiffly.**

**'What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?'**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.'**

"Your parents had common names too," said Luna. "Your name matches very well, Harry.

He laughed. "Thanks, Luna."

**'Oh, yes,' said Mr Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. 'Yes, I quite agree.'**

"You won't hear him say that very often either," sighed Harry?"

"Yes?"

"No, that he agrees. Uncle Vernon never agrees with anything."

**'He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something.'**

More suspicious looks were thrown at McGonagall, and yet...

**'Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did...if it got out that they were related to a pair of- well, he didn't think he could bear it.'**

"Ha! Like he can bear _anything_!" scoffed Harry, sounding slightly annoyed now.

**'The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and turned over. It couldn't affect them...'**

Harry began laughing at this, and his laugh was so infectious, that nearly everyone else started laughing too.

**'How very wrong he was.'**

Harry laughed even more at this.

**'Mr Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.'**

"Seriously, Professor!"

**'A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.'**

McGonagall couldn't help but give a little smile at all the suspicious looks she was getting.

**'Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.'**

Now, everyone looked at the Headmaster, but he merely gave them all a twinkling smile. When the others saw this, they realized he wasn't going to say anything. With resigned sighs, they refocused on Hermione, inviting her to continue reading.

**'Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.' **

"Is that so?" he wondered, still smiling.

Harry gave a nod. "If anyone there saw you, sir, they would call the police.

Hermione looked shocked. "They would really go that far?" she questioned.

"Oh, yeah," replied Harry airily.

**'He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, 'I should have known.'**

"Come _on_, Professor!"

"How can that _not_ be you?"

"Are you _still_ not going to say anything?"

Clearly, the answer was no.

**'He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again- the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.' **

"Is that the Deluminator?" asked Ginny curiously. "The one Ron's got?"

Even though Dumbledore hadn't died, he'd still given Harry, Ron and Hermione the items he'd left them in his will. He'd known they were going to need them.

"The very same, Miss Weasley," smiled Dumbledore.

Draco's eyes widened. "You've _got_ one of those?" he questioned.

"Of course I do, Malfoy," said Ron in a superior tone. He was the only one who hadn't got past what the Malfoys had done. Everyone else, even Ginny, Harry and Hermione had given them another chance, but Ron...

**'If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement.'**

Harry chuckled. "She wouldn't like that," he muttered.

**'Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**'Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.'**

There were multiple shouts of "I knew it!" all around the room.

McGonagall gave a small sniff. "It looks as if I'm not as discrete as I thought I was."

"Nah, it's just cause we know you, Professor," smiled Bill.

**'He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, and emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

**'How did you know it was me?' she asked.**

**'My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.'**

"Yeah, and there's that," added Charlie, also smiling.

The others nodded in agreement and the older woman couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, alright," she said. "You got me."

**'You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day,' said Professor McGonagall.**

**'All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here.'**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.'**

"That really wasn't the moment, Albus," said McGonagall.

"Oh, I realize that," replied Dumbledore. "I was simply trying to...lighten the situation.

"Even though you knew nothing would work," said Remus quietly.

"Yes, even so."

**'Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right,' she said impatiently. 'You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no- even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news.' She jerked her head back at the Dursley's dark window. 'I heard it. Flocks of owls...shooting starts... Well, they're not completely stupid.' **

"No, no they aren't," said Harry.

"They are smarter than they're given credit for," agreed Hermione.

"Are they?"

"Yeah."

**'They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent- I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense.'**

"But he _did_ drive my aunt, uncle, and cousin crazy," laughed Harry.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny, who had been told everything Dedalus had done and said, all joined Harry in beginning to laugh as well.

**'You can't blame them,' said Dumbledore gently. 'We've had precious little time to celebrate for eleven years.'**

"Eleven years?" said Ginny, surprised.

"Yes," said Remus, from Harry's other side. "Things were very bad during those years. Very unsafe. Very scary."

"Was it anything like the past couple of years?" asked Ron.

"Better in some ways and worse in others," replied Lucius.

"He had more Death Eaters, but didn't use Dementors. He had more people opposing him and didn't dare enter Hogwarts, but made up for that in other ways," explained Severus.

"Oh, gods," murmured Hermione. "And that went on for eleven years? I think we're very lucky that we only had to deal with all this for a couple of years."

"We are," agreed Harry.

**'I know that,' said Professor McGonagall irritably. 'But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumours.'**

"Ohh," said Ron. "So _that's_ what all those people your uncle saw were doing."

"Were there really that many people about?" asked Neville.

"Oh, more'n was said in the book," said Hagrid. "Yeh couldn' go anywhere without seein' folks in them robes around. All huddled tegether, talkin' in whispers."

**'She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on: 'A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all.' **

"That would have sucked," said Draco.

"It would have, yes."

The others clearly agreed with him.

**'I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?'**

"He's not as gone as everyone thought he was," sighed Harry.

**'It certainly seems so,' said Dumbledore. 'We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?'**

"A very obvious subject change, Albus."

Dumbledore just chuckled merrily.

**'A what?'**

**'A sherbet lemon. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of.'**

"I never understood how you like those, sir," said Harry frowning. "I always preferred chocolate."

Hermione laughed. "Like Remus?"

Glancing at the werewolf, Harry now laughing too, he answered, "Oh, I don't think _anyone_ likes chocolate as much as he does."

Remus gave him a smack on the head, but ended up laughing as well.

**'No, thank you,' said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbet lemons. 'As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone-'**

**'My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this "You-Know-Who" nonsense- for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort.' **

Even now, Dumbledore gave them all a twinkling look, silently saying that he still thought they should call Voldemort by his name. Some of them did, yeah, but a lot of them didn't. There were still too many bad memories.

**'Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two sherbet lemons, seemed not to notice. 'It all gets so confusing if we keep saying "You-Know-Who". I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.'**

"_Exactly_!" muttered Harry in an undertone.

**'I know you haven't,' said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. 'But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort- was frightened of.'**

"Yeah, Professor Dumbledore _and_ Harry," laughed the twins.

**'You flatter me,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'Voldemort had powers I will never have.'**

**'Only because you're too- well- noble to use them.'**

"She's right, you know," said Arthur, while Molly nodded next to him.

**'It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs.'**

The Weasley kids, Harry, Hermione, and Draco all snickered.

**'Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, 'The owls are nothing to the rumours that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?'**

Remus failed to hold back a sigh. He had always had conflicted feelings about this day. It had been one of the best and worst days of his life. Voldemort had vanished, but he had lost Lily and James. Two people who meant the world to him. He couldn't celebrate, but he couldn't brood either.

**'It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another sherbet lemon and did not answer.'**

"Were you simply _trying_ to make me say it?" questioned McGonagall.

Albus smiled gently. "My dear, trust me when I say it was better that way."

They all looked at him, confused, but he didn't say anything else, so Hermione continued reading.

**'What they're saying,' she pressed on, 'is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are- are- that they're- dead.'**

All smiled vanished. Harry's grip on Ginny's hand tightened, and most in the room had gone pale.

**'Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**'Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it... Oh, Albus...'**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. 'I know...I know...' he said heavily.'**

"I'm...glad there are people who care about my parents this much," said Harry quietly, but seriously. "I think they'd be pleased at that."

"Oh, Harry," Ginny, who had caught the slight quaver in her boyfriend's voice, hugged him.

**'Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. 'That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But- he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke- and that's why he's gone.'**

"I still don't understand how that happened," said Neville with a frown.

"You'll find out later," said Harry, Ron and Hermione in unison.

**'Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**'It's- it's true?' faltered Professor McGonagall. 'After all he's done...all the people he's killed...he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding...of all the things to stop him...but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?'**

**'We can only guess,' said Dumbledore. 'We may never know.'**

Harry looked at the Headmaster. "Did you already know what had happened, sir?"

"No, Harry. I had estimations, many of them, but I did not know what the truth was. Not just then."

**'Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he out it back in his pocket and said, 'Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?'**

"Tha' wasn' my fault," said Hagrid. "D'yeh know jus' how many of them owls there was, flyin' around? It was ruddy hard to see, it was!"

This earned a few laughs of the group.

**'Yes,' said Professor McGonagall. 'And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?'**

**'I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now.'**

Draco frowned. "But Black's your godfather," he said. "And he hadn't been arrested yet either...so why weren't you sent to him?"

Harry shrugged. "I think that'll be said later on."

"Ugh, fine."

**'You don't mean- you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. 'Dumbledore- you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son- I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!'**

Harry laughed. "You think that was bad, professor? Just wait until I get his second bedroom."

"He has _two_ rooms?" said Ron in surprise.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, there're four rooms in that house. You'll see."

**'It's the best place for him,' said Dumbledore firmly. 'His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter.'**

Harry burst out laughing at this. "Them, _explaining _something to me? Yeah, like that'll ever happen!"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"How can they explain things to me when I'm not allowed to ask questions?"

Everyone looked at him.

"You can't ask questions?"

"Nope. That'll be explained later on too, I think," said Harry. "Like I said, they're an odd family that take some getting used to."

**'A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. 'Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous- a legend- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in future- there will be books written about Harry- every child in our world will know his name!'**

There were some sniggers.

"Harry Potter Day?"

**'Exactly,' said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. 'It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?'**

"I don't think I was ever really ready to take it," sighed Harry. "I mean, I wanted to be known as a person, not as The Boy Who Lived with that lightning shaped scar..."

Nobody really knew what to say to this. It wasn't as if they knew what he was talking about. Well, they did, but they couldn't relate to it or anything.

**'Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, 'Yes- Yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?' She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.'**

"What!"

**'Hagrid's bringing him.'**

"Oh..." Molly sank back in her seat. For a moment, she really had thought that that was how Dumbledore had brought Harry over. She wouldn't have put it past him. He was a very strange man.

**'You think it- wise- to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?'**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said multiple people in unison.

The half giant gave a great sniff at hearing that, and seemed ready to cry.

**'I would trust Hagrid with my life,' said Dumbledore.'**

"See!"

**'I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place,' said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, 'but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to- what was that?'**

"What was what?" said Ron.

**'A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky- and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.'**

"Ah." Remus gave a chuckle. He already knew that this was Sirius' bike.

**'If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild- long tangles of bushy black hair and beard his most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.'**

"Oh," said Harry, realizing what the bundle was. "So that's what you were talking about, Hagrid."

Hagrid gave him a nod in return. "Yep, told yeh."

**'Hagrid,' said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. 'At last. And where did you get that motorbike?'**

**'Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir,' said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorbike as he spoke. 'Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir.'**

Harry stiffened slightly at hearing Sirius' name, but didn't say anything.

**'No problems, were there?'**

**'No, sir- house was almost destroyed but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol.'**

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously- shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.'**

The girl's all cooed, causing Harry to blush slightly.

Ron laughed. "Baby Harry, huh?"

"Shut it, you!"

But Ron only laughed more.

"You were a baby once too, Ron," said Bill, who looked rather confused at the way Ron was behaving.

"Yeah," agreed Charlie. "I remember the time you ran around the house with a pair of underpants on your head."

"..."

Now everyone other than Ron was laughing.

"You did that!?"

"Ahaha, oh, my sides!"

"Alright, alright!"

Once Hermione had managed to get control over her breathing, she went on, having to stifle a snigger or two every time Charlie's words cropped back into her mind.

**'Is that where-?' whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**'Yes,' said Dumbledore. 'He'll have that scar forever.'**

Almost automatically, Harry raised a hand and traced over his scar.

**'Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?'**

**'Even if I could, I wouldn't.' **

"I may not like it very much anymore, but I'm glad you didn't," said Harry.

**'Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground.'**

"...Really?"

"Yes, Miss Weasley, really."

"Scars? Useful?" muttered Severus rather harshly.

Hermione, who was the only one who had heard the words, turned slightly and ran a finger down his cheek. "Yes, and those scars show me how very brave you are," she murmured softly. "Aren't you the one who said that to me?" She had a few scars of her own, after all.

"...Yes."

**'Well- give him here, Hagrid- we'd better get this over with.'**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursley's house.'**

Harry twitched ever so slightly. He now knew _why_ he had been left there. He knew it was for his protection...but he still hated it. He had spent years suffering in the care of his aunt and uncle, suffering that had only doubled when he had begun going to Hogwarts.

**'Could I- could I say goodbye to him, sir?' asked Hagrid.**

**He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss.' **

Harry frowned slightly. How had that not woken him up?

**'Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

**'Shhh!' hissed Professor McGonagall. 'You'll wake the Muggles!'**

"Forget the Muggles," said Molly. "You'll wake Harry!"

**'S-s-sorry,' sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. 'But I c-c-can't stand it- Lily an' James dead- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles-'**

"Hey, he got through it, didn't he, Hagrid?" smiled Luna.

"Yeah, yeah he did."

**'Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found,' Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked in inside Harry's blankets and then came back to the other two.' **

"Harry, did they ever tell you what was in that letter?" asked Arthur.

"No. I didn't find out about all this until my eleventh birthday."

"You must have been very confused."

Harry shrugged. "I probably felt the same way as all the Muggleborns do."

"That's likely true," nodded Hermione, who, of course, knew what it felt like.

**'For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.'**

Hermione paused in her reading, because it just felt like the right thing to do. She couldn't have said why. No one stopped her though. No one questioned her.

**'Well,' said Dumbledore finally, 'that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations.'**

"Celebrations," muttered both Lucius and Narcissa. That had been a terrible day for them. Not because Lily and James Potter had died, but because their master had vanished. Not that they felt the same way anymore though.

**'Yeah,' said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. 'I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall- Professor Dumbledore, sir.'**

"But you weren't able to find him again, were you, Hagrid?"

"No, and then the next day..."

**'Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself on to the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**'I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall,' said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.'**

A few people, mainly the younger ones, smirked or sniggered, but McGonagall held to her dignity and said nothing.

**'Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.'**

"I can't believe you just left him out there," said Molly, sounding slightly angry.

"I did place wards around him," explained Dumbledore. "One's to prevent the Muggles from seeing him."

"And to keep him warm?"

"Yes, those too."

"I hope so."

"Relax Mrs Weasley," laughed Harry. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Oh, yes dear, but still..."

**'Good luck, Harry,' he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak he was gone.'**

"Yeah, that didn't help much, sir," said Harry quietly.

**'A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on,-' **

There were more cooes and the males shook their heads in exasperation.

**'-not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, not knowing that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley...' **

"Which would progress to punching in a few years' time..."

**'He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: 'To Harry Potter- the boy who lived!'**

"That's the end of the chapter," said Hermione.

"Who would like to read next?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'll take it," said Severus. He was closest, after all.

Hermione handed him the book, and had to shift around on his lap again, so that Severus could actually hold the book properly.

Stifling a groan, Severus read the name of the next chapter. "Chapter Two... The Vanishing Glass."

Harry immediately began to laugh, as he realized what was going to happen in the next chapter.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you'll see," replied Harry. "But you're going to hear about the first time I ever used Parseltongue."

* * *

**And that's the end of this one. Thank you to those who have reviewed, faved, alerted, followed this fic so far. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

**Yo, okay, here we are. Finally. I know, long wait, right? I'm sorry… Thankz to all readers so far...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters…**

* * *

"Chapter two...The Vanishing Glass," began Severus, and Hermione sighed inwardly. She loved this man's voice.

**'Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.' **

"Well that has to be boring," said Charlie.

Harry laughed. "I said it before, didn't I? They're boring people."

**'The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursley's front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.' **

"Gods," muttered Bill, and Harry laughed again.

**'Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed.' **

"Well, at least they changed _something_," said Neville with a shrug. He had actually begun getting a little creeped out by the lack of change.

**'Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different coloured bobble hats- but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house too.'**

"They don't have any pictures of you?" wondered Draco.

"Nope," replied Harry. "Not of me, or my parents."

"Really?"

**'Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice which made the first noise of the day.'**

"Something I always hated," said Harry with sigh.

"I can imagine," agreed Ron with a half glance at his mother, who didn't notice.

**'Up! Get up! Now!'**

**Harry awoke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"How long did she do that for if you didn't get up?" asked Neville, wondering if it was anything like his grandmother, barging into his room, when _he _didn't wake up on her first try.

Harry rolled his eyes. "She can do that for hours, really."

"They won't come into the room to wake you up?"

"Like they could even _fit_ in there," replied Harry with a snort, not realizing what he'd just said.

The others however, had heard him and were now wondering what he was talking about. How could his aunt and uncle not fit inside his room?

**'Up!' she screeched. Harry heard her walking towards the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorbike in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.'**

This earned him a few awed looks.

"You _remember_ that?" questioned Remus, surprised.

"Not the entire thing," admitted Harry. "Just...bits of it."

**'His aunt was back outside the door.**

**'Are you up yet?' she demanded.'**

"She doesn't give up, does she?"

"No."

**'Nearly,' said Harry.**

**'Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday.'**

The younger ones in the room sniggered.

"Duddy?"

Harry smirked. "Wait till you hear his other nickname."

"Is it funnier than Duddy?"

"Oh, way funnier."

**'Harry groaned.**

**'What did you say?' his aunt snapped through the door.**

**'Nothing, nothing...'**

"I'm assuming you didn't like your cousin's birthday, Harry?" said Arthur.

Harry nodded. "They were some of the worst days of my life."

**'Dudley's birthday- how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.' **

Ron shuddered. "You have spiders in your _room_?"

Harry nodded once more, suddenly dreading what he knew had to be coming. They were all going to find out where he slept for the best part of nine, ten years...and he knew none of them were going to like it. He had always avoided telling them what had been happening at the Dursley's house, because he knew they'd all overreact.

**'Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.'**

Severus broke off abruptly and looked round at him, surprise evident on his usually expressionless face. But he wasn't the only one. Everyone in the hall, every single one of them, was staring at Harry in shock. Harry looked down. He didn't want to see those looks...they were just going to make things worse. That was another reason why he'd never told anyone. He hadn't wanted to worry them.

"Harry-" began Hermione in a pained voice that was tinted with surprise. "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"They made you sleep in a cupboard?" questioned Ron.

"I thought you said there were _four_ bedrooms in the house?" said Draco, who was actually a pretty good person now that he was their friend.

"I thought that meant one for your aunt and uncle, one for you and two for Dudley?" said Ginny.

"Harry..."

The green eyed young man winced. That tone in Dumbledore's voice meant he was expecting an explanation. Harry sighed. What was he going to say? What _could_ he say? "Okay," he said after a moment. "Okay. Yes, I grew up abused. Yes, I spent most of the beginning of my life in a cupboard under the stairs. Yes, they hurt me...a lot, but what does it matter? Who cares about that anymore?" he demanded. He looked down again as terrible old memories coursed through him. "It's done with... It's over..."

No one knew what to say to him. None of them, save for one, had ever been through something like that. They couldn't even imagine it. In fact, none of them had ever even noticed what Harry had been going through. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Remus, Arthur, Molly, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ginny, and even Severus, felt slightly guilty at that. They had seen how every time Harry returned after the summer, he seemed to be so thin. Ron had seen some of the injuries Harry had, but he had always thought that they were from whatever adventure they had gone on the previous school year. He hadn't noticed how fresh the injuries were.

And Severus...he had been through it himself. He was the only one in this room, other than Harry, who had grown up abused. And he had never told anyone either. It wasn't a trust thing, Severus knew. It was pride.

Harry had had enough with the staring. "Look," he said. "You're going to have to get used to them doing things like that to me, because they do it a lot. So, can we just keep going?" He looked at Severus, knowing that he was the only one who understood.

**'When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had got the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.' **

Severus had to pause in his reading, so that Harry and Hermione could explain to Arthur about what a computer, television and racing bike were, and how they worked. Sometimes, it was hard to believe Arthur was a grown man...especially when he bounced with excitement at the thought of Muggle devices...such as now.

**'Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise- unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favourite punch-bag was Harry, but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.'**

Harry remembered Dudley's punches. He had always had heavy strikes, even before he had begun boxing. In fact, now that he thought about it, Harry realized just how perfect the sport of boxing was for Dudley. He had skill, even he, Harry knew this. But yes, it had, technically, been worse for him after Dudley had begun to box.

"Yes, he used to punch me all the time," said Harry with a sigh.

**'Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.' **

"Oh," said Draco. "I always wondered why your Muggle clothes never seemed to fit you properly."

Harry smiled slightly. "Well now you know."

**'Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright-green eyes.' **

"You know, you really are the spitting image of you father," smiled Remus.

"Save for the eyes," agreed Severus.

He and Harry had come to an agreement after he and Hermione had saved his life. Harry had seen the memories and he realized how much the man had done for him. Hell, of it hadn't been for Snape, he'd likely be dead. Harry had thanked him and the two now respected one another...sort of. And, well, now that Severus was...together with Hermione...Harry had to be able to tolerate that. Actually, the only person who didn't like the relationship between Severus and Hermione, was Ron.

**'He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead which was shaped like a bolt of lightning.' **

"I thought you hated that scar," said Ron, who had always been a little jealous of his friend.

"I did hate it," replied Harry. "But that wasn't until I figured out what the scar really was and why I had it. Before that, it was pretty cool."

A few people laughed at that.

**'He had had it as long as he could remember and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he got it.**

**'In the car crash when your parents died,' she had said. 'And don't ask questions.'**

"Car crash!?" Severus and Remus, who hadn't known what Harry had been told all his life about the death of his parents, were shocked.

"Hagrid reacted the same way," said Harry with a laugh.

**'Don't **_**ask questions**_**- that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursley's.'**

"Wow, so you really _can't _ask questions," said Hermione softly.

"That's...mental," agreed Ginny.

Harry simply shrugged.

**'Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.'**

"You have to make their breakfast too?" asked Draco, surprised.

"Yeah," said Harry, sounding nonplussed once again. "I just really have to make sure I don't burn it... That...that never ends well."

**'Comb your hair!' he barked, by way of a morning greeting.'**

"Well that's nice," said Luna with a small sigh. She didn't really like this man.

**'About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way- all over the place.'**

Nearly everyone laughed at this. They all glanced at Harry's messy hair and Ginny actually ruffled it, making even messier...not that it really made a difference.

**'Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon.' **

"Not anymore." Dudley was taller than his father now, and most of his fat had turned to muscle, due to all the boxing he now did.

**'He had a large, pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick, blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.' **

"He doesn't really look like that anymore," Harry assured the others. "He grew out of it...mostly."

**'Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel- Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.'**

The Weasley kids, Harry, Hermione, Draco, Neville and Luna laughed. Most adults snickered.

"Good one, Harry!" The twins looked particularly pleased.

**'Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.'**

"Uh oh..."

**'Thirty-six,' he said, looking up at his mother and father. 'That's two less than last year.'**

"Oh, Merlin," sighed Remus.

**'Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy.'**

**'All right, thirty-seven then,' said Dudley, going red in the face.' **

"He's going to throw a tantrum because he's only getting thirty seven presents?" questioned Bill disbelievingly.

"That's even worse than Draco," muttered Lucius.

"Father! You didn't need to say that out loud, you know!" exclaimed Draco, a little red in the face.

"Oh, did I say that out loud? I apologize, son," said Lucius in a tone that wasn't fooling anyone...not that it was meant to.

**'Harry, who could see a huge tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.'**

"You really thought he was going to knock the table over?" wondered Ginny.

Harry shrugged. "He's done it before."

**'Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly, 'And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?'**

"And they don't bother reasoning with him either, huh? Just go and get him more of what he wants." Molly didn't sound very happy.

**'Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.' **

The 'children' all laughed.

"Bet he doesn't think much."

"Nope, never. That's why it always looks like it's painful or something."

**'Finally he said slowly, 'So I'll have thirty...thirty...'**  
**  
'Thirty-nine, sweetums,' said Aunt Petunia.**

Hermione frowned and interrupted her lover by beginning to speak to Harry. "Exactly _how_ old is he?"

"That was his eleventh birthday," replied Harry.

"...And he doesn't know what thirty seven plus _two_ is?" She sounded rather shocked.

Harry sighed rather dramatically. "Mione, do you _know_ just how long it took him to be able to count past _ten_?"

"How long?"

"He was eight by the time he finally got it right."

"...Are you serious?"

"Yes. Anyway, you should continue, Professor," he added to Severus.

**'Oh.' Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. 'All right then.'**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**'Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!' He ruffled Dudley's hair.'**

The adults in the room, particularly the parents, all sighed and shook his heads in disapproval. Even the Malfoys hadn't been this bad when it came to their son. At least Draco was smart. After Hermione, he was second best overall. Yes, Draco was spoiled, but definitely not _that_ bad!

**'At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a cine-camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games and a video recorder.' **

Severus had to pause once more, so that Harry and Hermione could explain things to Arthur again.

**'He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

**'Bad news, Vernon,' she said. 'Mrs Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him.' She jerked her head in Harry's direction.'**

"He has a name!"

"Wait, Mrs Figg?"

"As in _that _Mrs Figg?"

Harry nodded.

**'Dudley's mouth fell open in horror but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger bars or the cinema.' **

"Sounds fun," said Neville.

"Not for me."

**'Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away.' **

Dumbledore and the other adults, save for Severus, Lucius and Narcissa, looked at Harry in a mixture of surprise and disapproval. And after a second, Harry realized why.

"Hey," he said, raising his hands above his head as if in surrender. "I was eleven at the time, and I'd been going there for...well, forever, I guess. It's not like I think the same thing anymore."

"But Harry dear," said Molly with a frown. "It's not right to think of anyon-"

**'Harry hated it there.' **

Molly sent Severus a glare as he cut her off, but it didn't actually do anything, as Severus was immune to glares.

**'The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.'**

"Ah, that's not fun, is it, Harry?" said Luna, smiling dreamily as always.

Harry chuckled. "Nope, it was never really fun."

**'Now what?' said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.' **

Harry got some suspicious looks at that, and he quickly said, "I didn't plan that! I had no idea she was going to get hurt."

**'Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr Paws and Tufty again.'**

Harry gave a guilty shrug that seemed to be hiding slight amusement.

**'We could phone Marge,' Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**'Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy.'**

Ron looked over at Harry. "Isn't that the aunt that you blew up?" he asked, trying to hold back a laugh, that erupted when his friend nodded.

**'The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there- or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.'**

Harry got a few sympathetic looks at that. They were just having such a hard time believing that Harry Potter had grown up being treated like this. It was just...

**'What about what's-her-name, your friend- Yvonne?'**

**'On holiday in Majorca,' snapped Aunt Petunia.**

"Which was actually rather unfortunate, considering she actually liked me," sighed Harry.

"Did she?"

"Yeah, she had a daughter, actually, younger than me, and we used to play together," Harry explained. "She was what, four years younger than me? Anyway, since the girl liked me, Yvonne was happy." He sighed again. "Too bad that didn't last."

"Why? What happened?"

"Amy died."

There were a few gasps.

"What...?"

"Car accident. Drunk driver." He paused. "Sorry, can we move on?" He glanced at Severus who nodded and complied.

**'You could leave me here,' Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**  
**  
Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.'**

"Tha' mus' be a lovely sight," chuckled Hagrid, earning laughs in response.  
**  
'And come back and find the house in ruins?' she snarled.'**

"Did they think you were going to blow the house up or something?" questioned Ginny.

"Yeah, probably."

**'I won't blow up the house,' said Harry, but they weren't listening.'**

The twins laughed, earning a glare from their mother, all of them remembering the time Fred and George had nearly caused the house to explode while they'd been making one of their riskier products. Their mother had been very, _very_ angry.  
**  
'I suppose we could take him to the zoo,' said Aunt Petunia slowly, '...and leave him in the car...'**

Hermione gasped, surprising the others. "But that's illegal!"

"Is it?"

Both she and Harry nodded.

**'That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone...'**

Hermione seemed rather relieved at that.

"Did he think you were going to mess up his car too?" asked Ron.

"I guess. Though, I don't get why."

**'Dudley began to cry loudly.' **

"Wimp."

"He isn't actually crying."

"Oh."

"Haven't you heard? A man being able to cry, is what makes him manly."

"Fake crying makes you a wimp."

"That it does, yes."

**'In fact, he wasn't really crying, it had been years since he'd really cried, but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.'**

Lucius and Narcissa both cleared their throats pointedly, while Draco fidgeted in his seat between them, cheeks going pink.

**'Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!' she cried, flinging her arms around him.'**

Severus had no choice but to stop there, as the entire hall erupted in loud laughs. Fred and George were the loudest.

"Dinky!"

"Duddydums!"

"Ahahahaha"

"Oh, I can't breathe...!"

It was the children who were laughing hardest, while the adults settled on amused chuckles.

Hermione clutched onto Severus, trying to muffle her laughs in his shirt. Every time the man attempted to continue reading, someone would let out a little giggle, which caused everyone to begin laughing all over again. Soon even Severus couldn't help the chuckles he was emitting. He tried to hold them back, as they wouldn't go with his 'character' but with how much the others were laughing, the way Hermione was laughing...

"Okay," said Severus finally. "We must finish this."

"Right, right."

"G-go on, Professor."

**'I...don't...want...him...t-t-to come!' Dudley yelled between huge pretend sobs. 'He always sp-spoils everything!' He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.'**

"And no one noticed that?"

"Nope."

**'Just then, the doorbell rang- 'Oh, Good Lord, they're here!' said Aunt Petunia frantically- and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.' **

"Anyone else thinking of Pettigrew ?"

**'He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.'**

"He's that big, but he needs someone to hold people's arms behind him while hitting them?"

"That's sad."

"Very."

**'Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursley's car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.' **

Hermione turned to Harry, looking a little sad. "The first time you went to the zoo was when you were ten?"

"Yeah." Harry still looked rather unconcerned. "Like the book said, they didn't like taking me anywhere."

**'His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.'**

"More like grabbed me by the arm and yanked me off to the side," muttered Harry, rubbing his arm unconsciously.  
**  
'I'm warning you,' he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, 'I'm warning you now, boy- any funny business, anything at all- and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas.'**

"Like he can actually do that," scoffed Ron.

"..."

Everyone looked at Harry.

"They've done it before."

"...Yes."

"Gods, that's crazy."

**'I'm not going to do anything,' said Harry, 'honestly...'**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.'**

"Well you do have a knack of getting into trouble," chuckled McGonagall.

"Yes, you cannot really blame us adults for punishing you when unnecessary."

"Albus, when have you ever punished Pot- Harry?" questioned Severus.

Dumbledore merely responded with a twinkling smile.

Harry laughed. "Even Professor Snape didn't punish me the same way as the Dursleys did."

"Was it worse with Severus?" asked Hermione.

"No, better."

"...Wow."

**'The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.'**

Severus paused with a frown. "You would think Petunia would know what was going on, considering Lily did the same at one point."

Harry gave a nod of agreement. "When I found out that Aunt Petunia knew about you and mum, I always wondered why she punished me for all those things I couldn't control." He paused. "Well, actually, it was mainly Uncle Vernon who liked to punish me for all that."  
**  
'Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barber's looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his fringe, which she left "to hide that horrible scar".' **

Everyone immediately looked at Harry's hair, then winced in sympathy.

**'Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and sellotaped glasses. Next morning, however, he had got up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.' **

"I guess you must really like your hair to have made it grow back every single time."

Harry simply laughed.

**'He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.'**

"A week?" repeated Hermione. "I can understand a day, maybe...well, okay, maybe not, but still..."

"I know, Mione, they just liked to punish me, that's all."

**'Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old jumper of Dudley's (brown with orange bobbles).' **

That _does_ sound revolting," muttered Ron.

"Ronald!"

Apparently, Molly had made Ron a similar jumper when he had been younger. Ron hadn't really liked it much.

**'The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a glove puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.'**

"It's something."

**'On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.' **

"You flew, Harry," said Luna with a dreamy smile.

**'The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big bins outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.'**

Molly looked very sad here. "You must have been very skinny to have thought the wind made you get up there."

Harry shrugged. "It's not like I knew about magic, so that seemed to be the only possibility."

**'But today, nothing was going to go wrong.' **

Harry, Ron and Hermione were unable to hold back their laughs. The three of them, of course, already knew what was going to be happening.

**'It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard or Mrs Figg's cabbage-smelling living-room.'**

"Were those really the on'y places yeh were allowed to go to?" wondered Hagrid.

Harry nodded once. "I mean, sure, I'd occasionally go to some store or something, but that's it, really."

"That had to have sucked."

"A bit, yeah."

**'While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia.' **

"No surprise there."

**'He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects.' **

"Oh no," said Ginny rather sarcastically. "He likes to complain about Harry. What a big surprise."

**'This morning, it was motorbikes.'**

"Sirius wouldn't like that," said Remus with a small smile, remembering his friend.

**'...roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums,' he said, as a motorbike overtook them.'**

"But I think he'd have a lot to say against that."  
**  
'I had a dream about a motorbike,' said Harry remembering suddenly. 'It was flying.'**

Here, the werewolf gave a little chuckle. "And I'm sure he'd be very glad that you remember his bike, Harry."

Harry laughed too, but the others managed to catch the hint of sadness behind it.

**'Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beetroot with a moustache, 'MOTORBIKES DON'T FLY!'**

"They can if you know how to make them," said Arthur.

"Yes, but not everyone's like you, dear."

"A beetroot with a mustache?"

"Hahaha!"

"Man, that's hilarious!"

"Now if I ever want to see what a beetroot with a mustache looks like, I'll just go to your uncle's house!" laughed George, with Fred nodding along beside him.

**'Dudley and Piers sniggered.**  
**  
'I know they don't,' said Harry. 'It was only a dream.'**

"No it wasn't!" exclaimed the twins, Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Draco.  
**  
'But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dusleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon- they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.'**

Everyone glanced around at one another.

"I think he gets plenty of those on his own," laughed Hermione.

"And maybe some from us," added Fred and George in unison.

McGonagall gave her head a little shake. "It's his father's fault."

Severus sighed. "It wasn't just Potter. You'd be surprised at what Lily used to do."

"...My mum was a trouble maker? Why have I never heard anything about this?"

"She just never got caught."

**'It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice-creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice lolly.'**

"It's something," shrugged Draco.

Harry laughed. "It wasn't really half bad, you know."

**'It wasn't bad either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head and looking remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.'**

Everyone laughed again, attempting to picture what it may have looked like.

"Still looks more like a pig," muttered Hagrid under his breath.  
**  
'Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time.'**

Nobody commented on that, but Harry did get a few sympathetic glances, which he pretended he couldn't see.

**'He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunch-time, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him.'**

"Those boys really need to find something better to do with their time," said Luna.

"Yes, like read," sighed Hermione, wishing that more people did what she loved.

Harry began to laugh. "Dudley? Read?" And he laughed more.

**'They ate in the zoo restaurant and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerboker glory wasn't big enough, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.'**

Draco frowned. "It would have been far better if he finished the first one, then began demanding a second, bigger one. He would have been able to have more that way."

"...It sounds as if you speak from experience, Draco," said Hermione, looking over at him.

"He is," said Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus in unison.

A pink tinge appeared on the pale young man's cheeks. He didn't say anything, but ignored the snickers directed towards him.  
**  
'Harry felt afterwards, that he should have known it was all too good to last.'**

There were quite a few sighs at this.

"It seems we should have known that as well," sighed Remus.

**'After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in here, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone.'**

"Reptile house, huh? I bet all the Slytherins would feel right at home there," said Ron, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Ronald!"

"Ron!"

"Ow!" Ron had been hit upside the head by the majority of his siblings. Those who could reach, that is. Harry and Hermione didn't look too pleased either. Why couldn't Ron simply grow up?

Severus decided to continue reading, before the Weasleys seriously hurt Ron...not that he really cared.

**'Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place.'**

"They wanted to see the big snakes?" Neville looked at Harry. "Hey, that basilisk you took on was what?- fifty feet at least? How would your cousin and his friend have handled that?"

Harry chuckled. "They would have screamed like little girls, then run off to their mummies."

**'It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a dustbin- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.'**

"Sleep," murmured Severus tiredly, cutting himself off. As an insomniac, a sound sleep wasn't something he got often. In fact, it was a miracle if he managed to get more than three hours of sleep a night. Hermione's presence in his chambers, in his bed, definitely helped with that far better than any potion had.

**'Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.'**

"If only there was no glass there," said Ginny, sounding rather angry, not realizing what was going to happen next.

'**Make it move,' he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.'**

You can't _make _a snake move," said Lucius coldly.

"Don't I know it," said Narcissa, exchanging an understanding glance with Molly.

**'Do it again,' Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.'**  
**  
'This is boring,' Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.'**

"Waddle, waddle, waddle, wadd-ow!"

**'Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake.' **

Harry frowned. "I don't remember looking at it intently, but okay."

"Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Yeah."

**'He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself- no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up- at least he got to visit the rest of the house.'**

"Stop staring at me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry..."

**'The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

**It winked.'**

"Look, Ginny, a snake's flirting with your boyfriend," smirked Draco.

Most laughed, understanding his hidden meaning.

**'Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching.'**

"Wait for it..."

**'They weren't.' **

"Wait for it..."

**'He looked back at the snake and winked too.'**

Draco smirked again, and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the Weasley twins.

"Harry! You're flirting with a snake!"

**'The snake jerked its head towards Uncle Vernon and Dudley then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: **_**'I get that all the time.'**_

Hermione frowned. "I never thought about it that way," she said, quietly.

"Huh? Thought about what?" asked Ron.

"Thought about the fact that zoo animals must get rather annoyed with us coming to stare at them, disturbing them and all."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to start a spew for zoo animals!"

"Of course not!" retorted Hermione hotly. "It's just a thought." That was the first time she hadn't told him off for calling it spew, but she didn't even notice, because Severus had done something to seriously distract her.

**'I know,' Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. 'It must be really annoying.'**

"...Can it hear through the glass?"

Severus sighed. "If you would allow me to read, perhaps we would find out."

Neville went scarlet, but didn't say anything.

**'The snake nodded vigorously.'**

"Evidently it can, Longbottom."

Still a little pink in the face, Neville nodded, but didn't answer.

"How can it hear through glass?" wondered Ginny.

"Animals of all kind have very heightened senses," said Luna in that usual dreamy voice. "Snakes included."

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense."

**'Where do you come from, anyway?' Harry asked.'**

"Relaxed, casual conversation with a snake, Harry?" chuckled Remus. "Rather surprising considering it's the first time you've ever done it."

**'The snake jabbed its tail at the little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

_**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**_

**'Was it nice there?'**

"Remus is right," smiled Albus with his twinkling smile. "This _is_ a rather casual sort of conversation, isn't it?"

"No wonder you weren't freaked when you spoke to that snake in the second year."

Harry laughed. After this conversation, he had realized he could speak to snakes, but he'd never seen a snake again until the dueling club in his second year. In fact, when he had spoken to _that _snake, he'd actually forgotten that he _could_ speak snake. He'd just told it to back off because he felt as if he should.

**'The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. 'Oh, I see- so you've never been to Brazil?'**

"Aww, poor snake."

**'As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. 'DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!'**

**Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could.'**

"Waddle, waddle, waddle, wadd-OW!"

"Cut that out you two!" exclaimed Molly. "That's _very_ rude!"

**'Out of the way, you,' he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.' **

There were a few winces.

"Ow."

"Well that had to hurt."

"It did."

"Wait till you hear what he did as revenge," laughed Ron.

"What?"

**'What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened- one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.'**

"What? What? What? What?" chanted Fred and George.

"Shut it!"

**'Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.' **

Jaws dropped, but no one said anything.

**'The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor- people throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.'**

"...That's..."

"...Wow..."

"...I..."

Still, no one was able to say anything.

**'As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, 'Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigo,'**

Finally, the laughs started.

"Ahahahaha!"

"Wicked, Harry!"

"I wish I'd seen that!"

"I wish _I'd _done it!"

Harry was praised quite a bit during the next few minutes, and it took all the 'adults', save for Hagrid, who was also laughing, to calm them all down.

**'The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.'**

"I'd be surprised if he wasn't," muttered Minerva.

**'But the glass,' he kept saying, 'where did the glass go?'**

"Bet he wouldn't be surprised if it happened again."

Fred and George exchanged a glance, that immediately told everyone what they were thinking.

"Fred. George. No."

"Aww, c'mon!"

"No," repeated their father sternly.

"Fine, be that way..."

**'The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything but snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.' **

"They're really laying it on thick, aren't they?" muttered Charlie, rather annoyed.

Harry shrugged. "They do that."

"For the attention?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, when they can get people to actually believe them."

**'But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, 'Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?'**

"...Well, shit."

"Ronald!"

**'Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry.' **

"This isn't going to be good, is it?" said Bill.

Harry shrugged again. "No really, but it's not going to be that bad, considering most of the other punishments."

**'He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, 'Go- cupboard- stay- no meals,' before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.'**

"No meals...?" repeated Molly sounding both sad and angry.

"But that's illegal, isn't it?" asked Hermione.

"It is," replied Harry with a nod. "When people actually know about it."

**'Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.'**

Fred and George looked particularly upset at this fact. The two of them had spent years 'stealing' food from the Hogwarts kitchens, but they had done it for the fun, the attention, the rush of sneaking around...not because they were forced not to eat.

"No wonder you were always so skinny," mumbled Remus, sounding rather pained. When he had first seen Harry on the Hogwarts Express, he had noticed how thin Harry had been. Sure, James had been similarly thin, but not like that. Harry had seemed _too_ thin, and he hadn't realized why. Over the course of the school year, he had gained some weight, but when he had seen him again, he was thin once more. Was that what Harry had been doing every year? Building the weight during school, then losing it during the summer while he starved?  
**  
'He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.' **

"Car crash," muttered both Severus and Remus, unable to get over the lie.

**'He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died.' **

"Maybe because there _was_ no car crash."

**'Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from.' **

"I can't believe you remember that, Harry," said Hermione, sounding rather surprised. "The green light."

Harry gave a little laugh. "Honestly, I can't either."

"Now of only you had used that memory of yours in class," said Albus, Minerva, Hagrid and Remus together.

Harry flashed an amused smile. "Hey, I tried."

**'He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of then in the house.'**

"Wow, that just..." Draco didn't even know what to say.

"Sucks? Yeah, I know." Harry gave a little sigh, only heard by Remus and Ginny, who were seated on either side of him. "I still don't have any _memories_ of them," he said, "but I've learned a lot about them." He smiled. "That's just as good."

"Ohh, Harry..." Ginny hugged him, unsure of what to say, but Harry seemed pleased with just the hug.

**'When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him, away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family.' **

It was unfortunate that Sirius had been wanted, and had spent all that time in Azkaban. If he had been a free man, and Harry had been allowed to live with him instead of the Dursley's things could have been so much better for him. He wouldn't have grown up abused, without love. But, even with the terrible home life he'd had, Harry had become a pretty good person. Even without the whole saving the world from Voldemort thing.

**'Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him.' **

"So, is it thought or hoped?"

"Thought," replied Harry.

**'Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.' **

"Tiny man...?"

"Top hat...?"

Glances were exchanged.

"Dedalus Diggle."

Harry laughed. "Ding, ding, ding! Fifty points to you."

**'After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus.' **

Which Fred and George did now.

**'A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word.' **

"Okay, that one's a little creepy," said Hermione.

"Aunt Petunia thought he may have been a drug dealer."

**'The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.'**

"We _do _tend to do that, don't we?" said Minerva.

"Quite often."

**'At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.'**

There were multiple sighs once more.

"That is the end," said Severus.

"I'll read next, Uncle Severus."

Nodding, the professor passed the book to his godson, who glanced at the title.

**"Chapter Three...The Letters From No One..." **said Draco.

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter…Hope you like it so far. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!**


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